IABTC Pathway One 

Just Starting Out Just Starting out? Have little or no Professional experience? 

Here’s how to start…. 

In College: 

For instructors 

Introduction to Canine Behaviour 

followed by Units 1, 2, 3 & 4, 

and the additional 5-8 for behaviourists. 

​Or Via Distance Learning: 

For instructors - How Dogs Learn, Evolution & Breeds, Essential Solutions for Everyday Problems, and for behaviourists study the additional introduction and intermediate behaviour modification. Plus Advanced in college.

 Unit 4 and 8 can only be done in college. 

 Plus a range of practical courses to give you a more rounded view:

E.G IABTC Clicker and Target Training, TTouch, Master Dog Training (MDT) Trainer Award, Heelwork to Music, Treibball, Carting, Rally Obedience, Agility, Hoopers, Tricks, Competitive Obedience and more. 

 To gain IABTC Approved Instructor awards you will need to attend and successfully pass the assessment on the Instructing Pet Owners Course (Unit 4) on at least one occasion. 

The Instructor course has 3 levels: Assistant, Instructor and Advance Instructor. 

Most people starting out gain Assistant to start and work their way up over time and with experience. 

 IABTC also has approved Clicker & Target Training Instructors. For this you need to work through C&T awards 1-4. Each one offers its own award and title. 

 Gaining hands-on experience: You will need to train your own dog (or borrow one). It is not good practice to attempt to teach anything you have not done yourself. Therefore, training your dog up to and beyond the level that you are teaching is of paramount importance. 

You can do this by attending our regular training sessions in a range of disciplines. 

 IABTC Pathway Two

Already have some experience/knowledge/qualifications?

Attend unit 4. This will enable us to assess where you are at and what you need to do. On this course, we give detailed individual feedback to each participant and this will include suggestions as to how to proceed. 

At IABTC we cover the whole range of knowledge and practical experience you need to become a quality professional instructor and or behaviourist. You need to look at the topics below and decide if you are at the level where if you were asked about these aspects by a client you would have no hesitation in answering at a good general knowledge level as an instructor and a more in-depth level as a behaviourist. 

The Topics: If you are giving advice, you need to look at things from all angles e.g. breed, health, welfare, antecedents, brain activity, neural pathways, homeostasis, drives, motivations, psychopharmacology, owner ability, training, behaviour and more. 

Practical Experience: Do you have practical experience at the very least to the level you wish to teach? - if not, you need to address this.

Training experience - this can be gained by taking your own dog to a higher level of training. Pick any discipline that has levels and targets. If you have achieved them all in one discipline, then go on to another. The more you do the more your dog will teach you!! If you don’t have a dog, then borrow one!

Hands on experience: If you have not already done so you need to gain experience over a range of dogs. This can be achieved by helping out at a rescue or similar. 

 Book directly with Angela White iabtcmobile@gmail.com

Join the KCAI Scheme - IABTC courses will provide excellent evidence for this which also offers a City and Guilds validated award. We will help you to gain the qualification by showing you exactly where our courses fit and giving individual support to help you through. 

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